NFL Quarterback Kurt Warner to Join Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps in Effort to Rebuild Flood-Devastated Area
NFL quarterback Kurt Warner and his wife, Brenda, will join more than 500 Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps*State and National and AmeriCorps*VISTA members and alumni to help build 20 Habitat for Humanity houses, June 14-20, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as part of the annual Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon. The houses will be built in partnership with families affected by the floods that devastated much of Iowa in 2008.
“As Iowans, Brenda and I have seen firsthand the devastation of last year’s floods, but there is still so much work to do,” Warner said. “We believe that a safe home is so important to the long-term success of a family and we look forward to working alongside the Habitat AmeriCorps members to join the effort to rebuild in Cedar Rapids.”
The 2009 Build-a-Thon celebrates 14 years of AmeriCorps members helping Habitat for Humanity affiliates and partner organizations build affordable houses and eliminate substandard housing. During the blitz build, AmeriCorps members from across the country will join Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity as they help 20 low-income families. Super Bowl XXXIV MVP Kurt Warner and wife Brenda, Iowa natives, will volunteer their efforts on behalf of their First Things First Foundation. Since the flood, Kurt helped raise more than $650,000 from NFL colleagues and fans toward this effort. Additionally, the City of Cedar Rapids has committed $1 million of funding to the project.
“This Build-a-Thon is a powerful way to highlight the need for affordable housing for victims of the Iowa flooding while also celebrating the many contributions AmeriCorps members make to Habitat and other organizations in thousands of communities throughout the country every day,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO, Habitat for Humanity International. “We are so grateful to these hard-working AmeriCorps members for their commitment to eliminating poverty housing and applaud them for their service.”
The need for affordable housing is especially great in the Cedar Rapids area, where nearly 4,000 homes were damaged by fast-rising water during last year’s devastating floods. While 90 counties were declared federal disaster areas, Cedar Rapids was the most significantly affected region. Most of the affected homeowners did not have flood insurance. The first day of the Build-a-Thon, June 14, marks the first anniversary of the day water from the Cedar River crested, leaving nearly ten square miles of Cedar Rapids under water.
About Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity
Cedar Valley Habitat works in partnership with God and people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent houses in decent communities in which people can live and grow into all that God intended.
About Habitat for Humanity of Iowa
Habitat for Humanity of Iowa exists to serve Iowa affiliates through resource development, education, and building public support. Habitat Iowa aims to eliminate poverty housing, as a matter of social conscience, by creating and facilitating partnerships between Habitat for Humanity affiliates and community partners, businesses, and government at the state and federal level.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org.
About Habitat for Humanity National Service Programs
Since 1994, Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps*State and National, AmeriCorps*VISTA members have performed more than 5 million hours of service, engaged hundreds of thousands of volunteers and helped build more than 8,500 Habitat houses throughout the United States. For information about AmeriCorps programs, visit www.americorps.gov.
About the Corporation for National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation engages four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov/.
About the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation
Established in 2001, the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation is a 501(c)3 public charity serving as a vehicle for Kurt and Brenda Warner to reach out to the community and share their blessings with those in need. The First Things First Foundation is dedicated to impacting lives by promoting Christian values, sharing experiences and providing opportunities to encourage everyone that all things are possible when people to seek to put “first things first.” Additional information is available at www.kurtwarner.org.
Mayo Clinic: Retired National Football League Linemen Have High Incidence of Sleep Apnea
Sleep disordered breathing, also known as sleep apnea, is highly prevalent among retired National Football League (NFL) players, and particularly in linemen, according to Mayo Clinic research. This study, involving 167 players, adds to the growing body of research examining the relationship between sleep apnea and heart disease, the investigators say.
The study will be presented Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session in Orlando (1048-86). The research was conducted in collaboration with the Living Heart Foundation.
The Mayo data showed that 60 percent of linemen, average age of 54, had sleep disordered breathing (SDB), as defined by having at least 10 sleep-related breathing disorder episodes, such as pauses in breathing, per hour. Linemen had an average of 18.1 episodes per hour. The monitoring of breathing at night was conducted while the retired players slept at home. In addition, researchers discovered that age and obesity (measured by the body mass index, which corrects the weight for a person’s height) were significantly associated with sleep disordered breathing. Linemen had an average BMI of 34.2; a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.
Dr. Virend Somers, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist who helped guide the study, noted that the prevalence of sleep apnea and obesity was higher than expected, and serves as a warning that athletes need to monitor their weight and health carefully when they retire, a time when physical activity levels may begin to decline abruptly. While more research is needed to uncover the link between sleep disorders and heart disease, there is evidence that sleep apnea may be a cause of high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease, he says.
For all other study participants (average age of 53), who played other positions, 46 percent had sleep apnea with an average of 13.4 sleep-related disorder episodes per hour. The average BMI was 30.5.
In addition, 45 percent of the linemen and 32 percent of nonlinemen reported having high blood pressure. “High blood pressure is another risk factor for cardiac disease, and may be linked to both obesity and sleep apnea,” Dr. Somers says.
Retired football players, and particularly linemen, need to be aware of sleep disordered breathing and its connection to cardiac risk factors, says lead author Felipe Albuquerque, M.D. “Many people do not realize that they have a sleep disorder,” he says. “They may have no symptoms that they are aware of, but perhaps they know they are tired during the day and they’re told they snore very loudly. These can be clues to the presence of sleep apnea. Our results show that retired linemen need to realize that they are a very high risk population and may need evaluation and treatment.”
Previous research by various institutions and investigators in recent years, much of which has been assisted by the Living Heart Foundation, showed concerning health trends for retired NFL players:
- Retired NFL players are more prone to obesity and obstructive sleep apnea than the general population.
- Retired NFL players have an increased rate of metabolic syndrome, a condition increasingly linked to excess weight and lack of activity, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.
- Higher mortality is reported in linemen, as compared to people in the general population of the same age who are not professional football players. Research is needed to determine the causes.
Source: Mayo Clinic
U.S. Labor Department sues former NFL player and others in bankruptcy court to recover pension assets
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Newport News, alleging that former National Football League (NFL) player Michael Vick and others violated federal employee benefits law by making a series of prohibited transfers from a pension plan sponsored by one of his companies. The department also simultaneously filed an adversary complaint in federal bankruptcy court to prevent Vick from discharging his alleged debt to the MV7 retirement plan.
MV7 was a celebrity marketing enterprise owned by Vick, who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 7, 2008. The company sponsored a defined benefit retirement plan for nine current and former employees as of October 2008.
“This action sends a message that the Labor Department will not tolerate the misuse of plan money and will take whatever steps necessary to recover the assets owed to eligible workers,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.
The department’s complaints allege that Vick violated his duties as a plan trustee under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by making a series of prohibited transfers from the plan for his own benefit. The plan assets were partially used to help pay the criminal restitution imposed upon Vick after his conviction for unlawful dog fighting as well as his attorney in the bankruptcy cases. From March 7, 2007, through July 7, 2008, Vick made and caused $1.35 million in withdrawals from the retirement plan.
Former Vick financial advisors Mary Wong and David Talbot allegedly participated in some of the transfers. In addition, the complaint alleges that MV7 has co-fiduciary liability for the actions of Vick and Talbot.
Employers and workers can reach the Washington District Office of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) at 301-713-2000 or toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems relating to retirement and health benefits. In fiscal year 2008, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.2 billion related to the pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families.
Solis v. Vick
Civil Action Number: 4:09CV37
U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor